The parliament in the north-central African country has adopted a new penal code to make homosexuality, both male and female, a crime.

So unless it is blocked by the President Idriss Déby, something very unlikely, that will increase the number of countries that makes homosexuality a criminal act to 77.

A law to ban homosexuality was originally proposed in 2014, but this time as a felony. It would have been punishable with up to 10 to 15 years in prison.

Instead, it will now be categorized as a misdemeanor.

If found guilty of homosexuality, Chad will punish violators with fines and a suspended prison sentence.

It will be handled by a police court or at a correctional hearing, rather than a full trial, according to TchadInfos.

‘Homosexuality is condemned by all religions. We do not have to forgive something that God himself rejects, because Westerners have said this,’ Delwa Kassire Coumakoye, former prime minister of Chad, said.

‘I have the impression that, particularly in Chad, we live by the ideas of others. We do not have our own ideas! But for the government, the current provision of the Penal Code is a fair balance between conservative public opinion and an uncompromising international community on the protection of minorities.’